Suspects in Betts case have long rap sheets

The three 18-year-olds charged with killing well-known D.C. principal Brian Betts have lengthy criminal histories as juveniles, according to charging documents made public Tuesday, and were all ordered held without bond.

One of the suspects, Alante Saunders, was charged with a first-degree sex offense seven years ago, when he was 11-years-old, according to the documents. Saunders's criminal history also includes allegations of attempted armed robbery, assault, theft, purse-snatching and robbery, according to the charging documents.

Saunders's fingerprints were found on Betts’s stolen SUV, and a person "believed to be Alante Saunders" was seen on surveillance photos next to a person trying to use, or using, Betts’s credit cards, according to charging documents.

A second suspect in the case, Sharif Lancaster, has a criminal history that includes allegations of carrying a pistol without a license, burglary, cocaine possession and unauthorized use of a vehicle, according to charging documents. His fingerprints were found inside Betts's house, according to charging documents.

The third 18-year-old charged in the case, Deontra Gray, has a criminal history that includes charges of carrying a dangerous weapon, theft from an automobile, burglary, and carrying a pistol without a license, according to charging documents.

I have the same question as literaryalpha. And another one: I like sleazy details as much as the next reader, but when this much detail about the crime and the suspects is published how can there be a fair trial?

These guys are class acts. What kind of names are Alante and Deontra?! I've seen made up names before, but these are some of the worst I've EVER seen! They remind me of the 30 Rock episode from last week where there was a woman named Feyonce.

The reason why their juvie files were easily found and were able to look at is when you turn 18, your file is "unlocked" and the whole world can see what type of Degenerate they are. The mother that used the CC had to know that it was stolen and used it anyway... she should be charged as an accesory to the fact. She has already proved that she failed as a parent and tolerates the behavior of her "spawn". I say throw them out onto 495 and see how quick they can dodge traffic!

rvanags, this is irrelevant with respect to this story, but it is patently false that juvie records automatically come unsealed when a kid turns 18. that would defeat the purpose of confidentiality altogether. there are instances where juvie records can become public following an arrest post-18, but i'm pretty sure those instances are curtailed by statute.

If anyone at the Washington Post reads these comments sections, please get rid of them. See above...while allowing users to comment on news articles SEEMS like a great idea, it's not working. For some reason it just brings out the racist dregs of society, and though it's unfair, it makes the paper itself look bad. Every time I come to this website I get so incredibly disheartened by the way people feel so free to reveal their true, horrible selves online.

The "Community Organizer in Chief" is a lot more like Betts in this situation than he is like those kids. It's very admirable to empower young people and motivate them to do more with their lives, especially in the face of adversity. I'm sad that a great man like Betts, who worked so hard to give opportunities to kids w/the odds stacked against them, was killed by a few young people who probably needed his help the most. I hope they get what they deserve.

The racist remarks are truly unfortunate- this man was doing great things in the African-American community and he would be appalled at some of these terrible comments. I say this because I knew him. His death was awful enough, and you'd think that people would keep their nasty comments to themselves. The crime was horrible- let's just hope that these kids- if they are indeed guilty- remain behind bars forever.

I'm so sorry this man lost his life. he was doing good things for people who wanted a different life....But since the crime has happened, too bad it didn't happen in TX, VA or FL, because they'd probadly get the death penalty & those states do not play. But when you commit a crime in MD & the joke of the country DC, they'll be back out on the streets in no time...I'm sorry Family of Mr. Betts. You are now going to have to depend on jailhouse justice, because the courts of Pr Geo County Md & DC will slap these thugs on the wrist. Because they are bleeding hearts for-young-ignorant-got-no-business breathing-black boys-who-commit-crimes & then-have-lawyers-&-mamas-talk- about-how-they-were-raised-&-what-good boys-they-really-are. (Don't turn your backs on them with your dog)

Why does the Post constantly permit blatant, offensive, and abusive comments to remain live on this site? We deserve better. If you are not willing to monitor comments then turn off the site. You would never print these as letters to the editor. Why is this different?

xarvin, check your spelling (the word is empirical) and check your assumptions. We have no idea what age the perpetrators told Betts they were before he agreed to meet them. I am just sayin, as you so elegantly put it.

laney619 and hydeparker: I agree with you - the hatred on so many levels and towards so many targets runs like a toxic stream through all of these Washington Post comments sections.

What I find unacceptable is that the "Report Abuse" links below each post are apparently only there for show. I have come across raw profanity, as well as sexual and racial slurs, that no amount of "reporting" managed to remove.

It seems that the Post offers this venue simply to attract more viewers to the advertising. Why dilute the profits by paying monitors to keep a handle on the comments?

And these three are representative of hundreds of thousands of twisted young people in the metropolitan area.....black, hispanic, asian, and caucasian. This is not a racial issue. But it is a true crisis. These young peoples' *jobs* are victimizing others many hours each week. Imagine the impact on the city and the surrounding jurisdictions.

If we don't act to greatly improve EVERYTHING about school systems and if we don't crack down much harder on youth crime, you and I or our family members may well fall victim to a tragic crime perpetrated by such young people.

It is interesting to contrast the various Washington Post comments sections to those of the New York Times. By and large (and there certainly are exceptions), there is a degree of civility in the New York Times posts that is woefully absent in the Washington Post.

Just read some of the above....and it's simply not in this particular instance. The venom drips in the comments sections of just about every article. What gives?

I agree with those who say that the Post comments section has become a forum of hate. Racism, homophobia, and general hate run rampant on the Post web site. Many of the comments are so over the top that it is impossible to take them seriously. It's a shame that some people get their kicks by posting blatantly offensive comments and that the Post allows this to continue. Comments on the New York Times represent a diverse range of opinion, but they are far more civil than the comments on the Post.

The guys looked like hardened criminals in the picture I saw of them. They should fit in well with the jail population.

I would like to know what's up with the records being available like they are, but with that said, the records give you an idea of the environment these kids grew up in where a sexual assault occurred at the age of 11 and robbing and stealing was the norm.

Personally I'm not surprised because I see kids YOUNGER than 11 who are already adept at lude behavior towards females and that have the foulest language imaginable. This is a direct reflection of how TOO MANY blacks have an ANYTHING GOES attitude with regard to their behavior and language around their young children.

If we (blacks) every expect to raise kids that have character (a word that is nonexistent in the black community) we as parents must set the CORRECT example and digard the violence and foul language that we instill in our young from the moment their are born.

I honestly don't think that blacks care enough or have the wherewithal to accomplish this, especially since we have a history of not changing ANYTHING negative associated with us. Therefore you will continue to see little perpetrating foul mouthed criminals coming from the black community.

They picked a good state to commit murder. The odds that Maryland will execute them is, let's see, 5 executions in 32 years, with perhaps 25,000 people actually committing murders during that time means... a one in five thousand chance they'll get executed. More likely a 20-year sentence for the actual trigger-man which will melt down to 12 years and a quiet release to the public for another several years of murder and mayhem.

I prefer the 'green solution' for proven murderers: rope, noose, tree, gravity... next! All reusable items and the leftovers make a fine and nutritional treat for the buzzards...

If anyone at the Washington Post reads these comments sections, please get rid of them. See above...while allowing users to comment on news articles SEEMS like a great idea, it's not working. For some reason it just brings out the racist dregs of society, and though it's unfair, it makes the paper itself look bad. Every time I come to this website I get so incredibly disheartened by the way people feel so free to reveal their true, horrible selves online.

Why does the Post constantly permit blatant, offensive, and abusive comments to remain live on this site? We deserve better. If you are not willing to monitor comments then turn off the site. You would never print these as letters to the editor. Why is this different?

Rather than imposing your Nazi-like or Islamic-inspired ideas of shutting down free expression, why not avoid the WaPo message boards? Works out well for everyone! Others don't have to be silenced in order for you to not hear things you don't want to hear. And those same others can keep on expressing themselves as though this is not a Muslim-dominated country run by cleric-fanatics or guys in brown shirts with swastikas on armbands...

These young men were criminals plain and simple. If Mr. Betts was not the victim it would have been someone else. More than likely these hustlers never let him know how old they really were. They played the game to get what they wanted. And Mr. Betts lost his life in the process. These crimes are being committed every day in record numbers. And for people to make assumptions about Mr. Betts thats so unfair. Of course many of you know thats how it works online whether dating or meeting friends. Lie, Lie and More Lies.

What I thought was silly that the parents where running their mouths even though the police have prints, video footage and more. Question how can you come to the aid of your child when he escaped from the Juvenile system? Did these parents not know that their kids had walked out? Did DC not call them and notify them of their missing kids? DC needs to take responsibility for some of this. If these hoodlums would have been monitored and kept locked up maybe just maybe Mr. Betts would be alive today. Question When Is DC Going To Get The Death Penality Because They Surely Need It. JMO

srb2 - Thanks for proving my point with your inane Nazi talk! I know we're living in a current political climate wherein anyone who disagrees is labeled a fascist Nazi, but I am not "anti free expression". I would rather see the Washington Post simply continue to accept and print letters to the editor rather than allow people to say things like:

"These are the Community Organizer in Chief's peeps. These are the dirtbags he wants to redistribute the wealth to.."

Why? Because they're all black? So I can feel free to associate the guy who flew a plane into a building in Texas as one of John McCain's dirtbags?

The rules on the site disallow the degradation of others based on gender, race, class, etc. Unfortunately the rules also state that the WaPo is not responsible for any content, and that they have no obligation to monitor comments. I wish this would change. It embarrasses the paper and this entire area as a whole.

WAPO and DC Government want to redirect the conversation and place focus on the kids past records when the real question is why was Betts solicting sex on a phone chat line from not one but "three" young black stud/bucks.

What kind of kinky s## was Betts into the he need three black Dic## to get off.

If WAPO and DC wants to look into the past of the trios the readers deserve to look into Betts sexual activities in and out of school.

Here we go again trying to make it seem like Bett's is a angel, the rap sheets are showing "charging documents", not convictions, so hold your breath, they just wrongfully charged a juvenile in the drive-by shooting. How the hell can DC juvenile system kill people, you should be saying DCPD, you must have been at the funeral at Cardoza which was totally overboard.

Here we go again trying to make it seem like Bett's is a angel, the rap sheets are showing "charging documents", not convictions, so hold your breath, they just wrongfully charged a juvenile in the drive-by shooting. How the hell can DC juvenile system kill people, you should be saying DCPD, you must have been at the funeral at Cardoza which was totally overboard.

When is the Washington Post and the media of DC going to start talking about Bett's computer and what was on it. Seriously, juvenile records supposed to be confidential, but they have posted them. Lets talk about a Junior high school Principal who calls young boys over to his house for favors (3) and their 18 not 21,(kids are 10-14)in junior high, 4 yrs.away.
This is getting out of hand.

"Inner city animals" and "savages", you must know Bett's. But who would have been victimized? And how many have already been, by the true "savages.

Posted by: tjohnson1672 | May 5, 2010 2:28 PM | Report abuse
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Let's not act like the Lacross player who killed his girlfriend is NOT an animal or savage just because he's white and privilidged!! An animal is an animal NO MATTER THE COLOR!! But you and those of your ilk seem to take pleasure in demonizing black criminals while saying NOTHING about the white savages!!

We have a lost generation of kids in the District. Thanks to the Liberals for their ideas about how to raise and handle kids. Thanks to the welfare system that promotes irresponsible behavior. It is time to tell the left to dry up and let traditional forms of child rearing be the norm. Also start charging parents for the actions of their children.

When is the Washington Post and the media of DC going to start talking about Bett's computer and what was on it. Seriously, juvenile records supposed to be confidential, but they have posted them. Lets talk about a Junior high school Principal who calls young boys over to his house for favors (3) and their 18 not 21,(kids are 10-14)in junior high, 4 yrs.away.
This is getting out of hand.

When is the Washington Post and the media of DC going to start talking about Bett's computer and what was on it. Seriously, juvenile records supposed to be confidential, but they have posted them. Lets talk about a Junior high school Principal who calls young boys over to his house for favors (3) and their 18 not 21,(kids are 10-14)in junior high, 4 yrs.away.
This is getting out of hand.

Posted by: tjohnson1672 | May 5, 2010 2:56 PM | Report abuse
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These were young adults! It matters NOT what's on his computer, obviously they were consenting adults, Bett's just didn't know he was going to be killed...And he was NOT, nor has he been, to my knowledge, ever accused of inappropriate contact with minors! So let's not go blaming the victim, because Bett's WAS the victim!

@ [you know who you are]: This article isn't about the savage who killed the college student in Virginia. And where in this article did the color of the suspects get mentioned? We do know the color of the savage in the Virginia case because media printed his picture. Denial keeps them from publishing pictures or descriptions of these guys. And who would mention any of this stuff except a racist anyway?

@ [you know who you are]: This article isn't about the savage who killed the college student in Virginia. And where in this article did the color of the suspects get mentioned? We do know the color of the savage in the Virginia case because media printed his picture. Denial keeps them from publishing pictures or descriptions of these guys. And who would mention any of this stuff except a racist anyway?

Posted by: srb2 | May 5, 2010 3:22 PM | Report abuse
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Yeah, OK, Play dumb, you know EXACTLY who I am because I have a screen name! And ALL of the savages, the white one included, faces have been plastered all over the news!

So if it makes me racist to point out the savages on both sides, THEN SO BE IT!!

If we (blacks) every expect to raise kids that have character (a word that is nonexistent in the black community) we as parents must set the CORRECT example and digard the violence and foul language that we instill in our young from the moment their are born.

I honestly don't think that blacks care enough or have the wherewithal to accomplish this, especially since we have a history of not changing ANYTHING negative associated with us. Therefore you will continue to see little perpetrating foul mouthed criminals coming from the black community.
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I see where you're going with this, but you are generalizing if you think Most Blacks (maybe not most in the inner city),
think character is NON-Existent! I see kids of character every day in my neighborhood and I live in the much maligned PG County! The problem is, these kids don't garner as much attention for doing the right thing and being great people because the news CONSANTLY goes for the bad guys!

How much new attention did the first Black Valedictorian of Notre Dame get? EXACTLY!! And there are countless other stories like hers that you will rarely hear, because the FOOLS in our communtiy get all the press!!

If we (blacks) every expect to raise kids that have character (a word that is nonexistent in the black community) we as parents must set the CORRECT example and digard the violence and foul language that we instill in our young from the moment their are born.

I honestly don't think that blacks care enough or have the wherewithal to accomplish this, especially since we have a history of not changing ANYTHING negative associated with us. Therefore you will continue to see little perpetrating foul mouthed criminals coming from the black community.
------------------------------------------
I see where you're going with this, but you are generalizing if you think Most Blacks (maybe not most in the inner city),
think character is NON-Existent! I see kids of character every day in my neighborhood and I live in the much maligned PG County! The problem is, these kids don't garner as much attention for doing the right thing and being great people because the news CONSANTLY goes for the bad guys!

How much new attention did the first Black Valedictorian of Notre Dame get? EXACTLY!! And there are countless other stories like hers that you will rarely hear, because the FOOLS in our communtiy get all the press!!

Posted by: Angryman | May 5, 2010 3:50 PM

ABSOLUTELY A GREAT POINT ANGRYMAN!!!!

None of these fools represent me, my family or friends so to generalize in such a way is irresponsible. As you have said there are more greater things being done by our youth whether they live in the city or suburbs than what these knuckle head are doing but those accomplishments are rarely noted here. On the rare occasion when they are you will still see negative comments regarding these accomplishments by the same ignorant people who troll for “black or brown” crime articles.

Sorry you feel that way keedrow but I see it entirely different than you. I see and experience on a daily basis a barrel of good apples with a few rotten ones. I travel throughout this country and specifically in rural areas that are mostly white and below middle class and the same problems that we see here they experience, shootings, murders, rapes and drugs...where do you think most meth labs are located?